Question

Dear Dr.Servaas,

I was diagnosed with histoplasrnosis（组织胞浆菌病）30 years ago ．At that time， my doctor told me that it was lung fungus（真菌）that could affect my eyesight.This has happened·Can it affect other organs of the body？

F．Buongiorne

Delta Junction，Arkansas，

Most people have no symptoms resulting from the lung infection，explains histo expert Dr.L.Joseph Wheat，when symptoms do develop，they are usually mild and will disappear without treatment

In some cases，however，histo can spread from the lungs and cause more serious problems．

“Histo is more severe in persons with diseases that reduce thcir immunity or who are receiving immunosuppressive（免疫抑制）medications,”says Dr.Wheat，"In such cases，histo can spread from lungs to other parts of the body．Patients with this type of histoplasmosis usually have constant fever，sweats，and weight loss·Excellent tests are available to diagnose this type of histo，and the treatment is highly effective·”

As mentioned by our Arkansas reader，eye problems accompanied by vision loss have been reported long after the first infection．

"Histo is thought by some to be a cause of spots on the back of the eye，called ‘histo spots’，”notes Dr·Wheat．“These injuries cause no problems in some patients， while in others they cause visual loss．There is no proof that histo causes these spots， however，as the organism is not found in the injured parts，and treatment for histo is not effective for the eye spots．”

People catch histoplasmosis by breathing extremely small spores（孢子）of the histoplasma fungus into their lungs·This fungus is commonly found in areas polluted by bird or bat droppings such as caves，chicken cages，barns（谷仓），and under bridges．It will spread through the air during construction or whenever plowing，sweeping，or digging disturbs the soil．

1.What’s the problem with F．Buongiorne？

A.He has recently been diagnosed with his to．

B．He is having difficulty in breathing．

C．He is worried about his health．

D．He has become totally blind．

2.Which of the following is Dr．Wheat’s opinion about“histo"？

A.The disease is equally harmful to all people．

B．The disease will make people put on weight．

C．The disease won’t cause serious problems and no medicine is effective for it·

D．The disease doesn’t，t necessarily have a serious effect on every patient with it·

3.How is“histo" related to“histo spots"？

A."Histo spots" may not be caused by“histo"．

B．Patients with“histo" will have“histo spots"．

C．"Histo spots" will cause visual loss to all patients．

D．“Histo spots" can be cured by the same medicine as cures“histd

4.We can infer from the passage that＿ ．

A.“histo" spreads through water

B．"histo" originates from animals

C．you may have the disease by eating affected chicken

D．workers in a close office are most likely to have“histo"

Answer 1